


3 Cups of Coffee (The Boyfriend of My Boyfriend Remix)

by makebelieveanything



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe, Developing Relationship, Disabled Character, Established Kandrew, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Past Kevneil, Trans Neil Josten, brief mentions of injuries, happy endings, they get to keep trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27534349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makebelieveanything/pseuds/makebelieveanything
Summary: Andrew Minyard thought he had finally run out of interesting things to happen in his life. He'd found a small town, found a cafe to work in, got a nice boyfriend - then in walked Neil Josten: an enigma, and also Andrew's boyfriend's long-lost, high school sweetheart.
Relationships: Kevin Day/Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day/Neil Josten, Kevin Day/Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Comments: 10
Kudos: 126
Collections: AFTG Remix 2020





	3 Cups of Coffee (The Boyfriend of My Boyfriend Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [archura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/archura/gifts).
  * Inspired by [3 Cups Of Coffee](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26464489) by [archura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/archura/pseuds/archura). 



> As always, thank you to my wonderful beta. I finally got to dip my toes in the Kandreil pool, and I'm extremely excited. I love these boys so much. Enjoy!

Andrew watched dispassionately as a complete stranger dug his meager belongings out of his car and walked into the Fox Den Cafe. If this was any town except for Palmetto, a complete stranger walking into a coffee shop wouldn’t be intriguing - it wouldn’t even be cause for a second glance - but this  _ was _ Palmetto, and no one new had shown up in this town since Kevin Day and that was well over two years ago at this point. 

Now, a complete stranger in Palmetto could occupy maybe five seconds of Andrew’s attention span, 15 if it was a  _ he _ , and maybe 30 if it was a he  _ and _ he was hot. Not many people, especially complete strangers, could occupy Andrew’s attention span for much longer than that; especially when Andrew had a gorgeous, black-haired, green-eyed boyfriend to go home to, so even the “hotness” factor was noticeably less significant than it would have been in the past. This particular stranger though, kept Andrew’s attention for at least an entire minute before Andrew mentally shook himself (for fuck’s sake the guy hadn’t even made it in the door yet). 

When he did, Andrew fell back on his usual response and blandly stated the obvious, “You are new.”

“Yeah,” the stranger responded. 

Andrew shrugged, grabbed a coffee mug (clearly the stranger was going to stay in the cafe: he was new and unknown to Palmetto; he had a backpack with him which indicated he planned on staying probably to read, or write, or something equally boring; and really no one just “stopped by” Palmetto) and asked, “What do you want?”

The guy looked only slightly taken aback by Andrew’s monotone, blunt nature, and it wasn’t enough to stall him for more than a couple seconds before he placed his order, leaving Andrew a very generous tip which Andrew immediately stuffed in his pocket. Andrew shooed the guy off to a table, promising to bring him his order when it was ready. Table service wasn’t necessarily a requirement of the job - especially when he was the only one in the cafe and no one was there to badger him about customer service - but he also wasn’t blind and could see the uncomfortable way the stranger had walked into the cafe and leaned against the counter. 

So, the list of things this particular stranger had done which were interesting enough to hold Andrew’s attention were: 

  1. He showed up alone in Palmetto with no apparent reason to be there besides wanting some coffee and croissants.
  2. He was a _he, and_ ~~obnoxiously hot.~~ (Not at all relevant, Andrew reminded himself.)
  3. He was a fantastic tipper, which meant he either had money, or he also thought Andrew was hot (equally not relevant, but also not wrong). Or, third option he was just uncommonly generous - which was extremely boring.
  4. He had a noticeable gait difference which meant he probably had an injury of some form, and deeming from the way he compensated for it Andrew would assume it was a well known, permanent issue. (And Aaron always thought Andrew never listened to him when he babbled on about med school - apparently when Andrew purposely tried to ignore his twin he still retained some of the unnecessary knowledge that was spouted at him.)
  5. And finally, he was reading Something Wicked This Way Comes, which was admittedly one of Andrew’s favorite books. 
  6. Also, ~~he was hot~~. 



Andrew dropped off the stranger’s order and returned to hide behind the counter, refusing to grace him with any more of his attention than he already had. Andrew purposefully dug back into the adult fantasy novel he’d been reading - an admittedly distinct, and imperative, distraction from the vaguely intriguing guy in the corner. 

Andrew was pulled from his reading when he noticed over an hour later that the stranger was headed his way carrying his mug. Andrew hopped up, grabbed a clean mug, and was about to confirm the stranger’s order when his boyfriend burst into the coffee shop - already on a tirade about gym time and their workout schedule. Andrew was contemplating a suitable response, if he was even going to give one, when the stranger whispered, none too softly,  _ “Kevin.” _

It was the tone of voice that caught Andrew’s attention,  _ again _ . It was the inflection of someone who thought they were seeing a ghost, mixed with the sound of someone seeing their long lost soulmate when they thought they never would again. It was an admittedly concerning tone of voice to hear a complete stranger say when talking to Andrew’s boyfriend, but then Andrew could see the moment realization smacked Kevin in the face as he gasped out a name Andrew hadn’t heard Kevin utter since he’d arrived in Palmetto all those years ago. “Lea?”

“I go by Neil now, but yes. It is me.” The stranger, Neil, attempted to smile at Kevin, but it came off as more of a grimace than anything. It didn’t seem to phase Kevin who immediately grabbed him in a rib-crushing hug. Andrew waited for Neil to flinch, or pull away, or cringe, or react in some way other than what he did, which was relax in complete relief - he even hugged Kevin back. Still Andrew couldn’t stop his quiet reprimand. “Kevin,” he warned softly, admonishing him with a  _ look _ ; one that said touching people without their consent - even ex high school sweethearts that had apparently come back from the dead - was not okay.

Kevin, unsurprisingly, ended up in the corner booth with Neil, pestering him with a never ending stream of questions. Where had he been? (Witness protection.) What happened? (What didn’t? Murderous mob father, FBI investigation, top surgery for gender reassignment, leg ambutation due to the torture received at the hands of said murderous mob father, and eventually safety.) What was he doing now? (Traveling aimlessly around small-town USA.) And so forth. 

It wasn’t long before Kevin had extracted all the important pieces of Neil’s life story since he’d last seen him, and moved on to integrating Neil into the day to day goings on of Palmetto. 

Andrew could tell, even through Kevin’s veneered, well-meaning, open attitude, that he was holding on as tightly as he dared to the enigma that was Neil Josten, formally Natalie Wesninski, a.k.a Kevin’s long-lost, high school sweetheart, that for the last two years Kevin believed had been murdered by his father, and had spent the entire first 6 months of his time in Palmetto trying to get over. 

After Neil agreed to “think about” staying around Palmetto for a bit and headed for the only hotel in town, Kevin slumped back against the booth, his head sliding down to Andrew’s shoulder. Andrew pulled his e-book back up on his phone and rested his cheek against Kevin’s soft head, allowing his boyfriend to hide his face in his neck for as long as he needed.  
  


****

After hiding away in Andrew’s neck for over an hour, Kevin immediately went overboard on what Andrew labeled his  _ Convince Neil to Stay in Palmetto  _ plan. He got Matt to give Neil the best room in the hotel, coerced Allison into hosting a “welcome” party at the restaurant, and even convinced Andrew to help him trick Neil into attending. Andrew didn’t feel guilty about asking Neil to join them for a vague “dinner” and then leaving him stranded in a surprise welcome party, mostly because Andrew didn’t feel  _ guilt _ anymore, but also because Kevin stuck to Neil’s side like velcro the entire evening. Andrew noticed Kevin’s attention to Neil, but he had never been one to feel  _ jealousy _ either, so instead he watched with veiled interest as Kevin introduced Neil to their friend group and Neil did his best to not act as uncomfortable as he clearly felt. 

It quickly became apparent to Andrew that although Neil seemed mildly comfortable around him, and extremely comfortable - if cautious - around Kevin, he did not extend the same feelings towards the rest of the general population.

Neil was only getting more interesting.   
  


****

For all Neil’s discomfort and cautious interactions with the rest of the people in Palmetto, he quickly fell into a routine with Andrew and Kevin. 

It started that next day. Neil showed up during Andrew’s morning shift for coffee, perched himself in a booth facing the door, and began to read a copy of Stephen King’s It that Andrew had seen in Renee’s bookstore the other day. As the morning stretched on, and Neil gave no indication of leaving the cafe, Andrew texted Kevin and told him to come pick him up for lunch. He claimed it was because he didn’t want customers anymore, but really Andrew knew Neil needed food that wasn’t muffins and croissants. Plus, Kevin deserved some time alone to catch up with Neil. 

The next day went much the same, and the one after that. 

Soon the only differences in their schedules was the book Neil was reading, the current apocalyptic world event he and Andrew were debating, and where Kevin took Neil for lunch.

Days became weeks, weeks became a month, and the easy relationship that had once just been Andrew and Kevin, turned into Andrew, Kevin, and Neil. It was almost seamless. 

Almost.  
  


****

It’s a month and a half after Neil’s spontaneous arrival and integration into Andrew’s life when Neil goes completely a-wall. Kevin returned to the cafe one afternoon after their normal lunch, the utter devastation on his face a look Andrew hadn’t seen since his first couple months in Palmetto. He was also very conspicuously missing Neil - who had agreed to spend the afternoon with Andrew debating the relative merits of big name crime novelists like Stephen King versus less well known authors. 

Andrew shrugged off Kevin’s worry after he recounted their conversation on the way to the grocery store. He told his boyfriend it would be fine, Neil was probably just not feeling well; he just needed some time. He nodded along when Kevin optimistically agreed Neil would be back the next day like nothing had happened.

But Neil wasn’t back the next day. He didn’t come to Andrew for coffee, he didn’t meet Kevin for lunch, neither Andrew nor Kevin saw Neil for days. Only reason they knew he was alive was because Seth admitted to seeing Neil buying coffee some mornings from the grocery store. 

The silence lasted an entire week before Kevin confronted Andrew. 

“What do I do?” he asked, his voice a desperate mixture of despair and hope bolstered by the belief Andrew would have answers for him as he always had. 

“What do you want to do?” Andrew asked in return. He was not a jealous sort, no, but he also wasn’t the type to stand around watching his boyfriend pine after another guy. 

“I don’t know, Andrew. Everything was going so well. Neil was back, we were spending time together, you were getting to know him. You were even getting to like him,” Kevin rambled, running his long fingers through his already disheveled hair.

Andrew only grunted, a response but not a complete acceptance - although of course Kevin was right. Kevin knew Andrew better than anyone.

“I want him to stay. I know it’s selfish. I know I have you, and I don’t want to give that up for anything, but I also don’t want to lose him again,” Kevin said finally. Looking at Andrew with the sort of passion and lost puppy eyes he used to give him in the beginning when they first started whatever _ this _ was. 

“What if you got to keep us both?” Andrew asked, trying to hide the tenuous waver of his voice. In his defense, suggesting you add a third boyfriend wasn’t exactly the most normal progression for a relationship, not that Andrew knew what “normal” was when Kevin was his only real boyfriend.

“Can we do that?” Kevin asked. 

“We can try,” Andrew answered, then grabbed his keys, telling Kevin to start some dinner for them as he walked out the door.   
  


****

Andrew found Neil in his hotel room, even more of an utter wreck than Kevin had been, and clearly not having left the room much in the last week. He was surrounded by books, dirty clothes strewn around the room, and clearly hadn’t spent much - if any - time with his prosthetic on as he wobbled slightly when opening the door. 

Andrew forced his way into the room, not giving Neil the option to shut him out, and not willing to walk away when Kevin had agreed to giving this - giving them, all three of them - a shot. 

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for Andrew to discuss the situation with Neil. He’d already known Neil still loved Kevin, he just hadn’t known Neil liked him too - but he couldn’t say he was disappointed, as he felt the same. 

Kissing Neil was a breath of fresh air, as if Andrew had been suffocating for the last week and Neil was the warm breeze through a newly opened window. 

But it still didn’t feel exactly right. 

So Andrew bullied Neil into a shower and some clean clothes, then dragged him unresisting out of his hotel room and back to Kevin and Andrew’s apartment. 

They walked in to the smell of garlic and slow roasting tomatoes. Kevin was stirring some buttery green beans on the stove top while a pot of water slowly heated to a boil for the pasta. 

Neil groaned softly at the delicious smell of home-cooked food, and Andrew’s mouth twitched in an almost smile as he hung up his jacket and placed his keys in the dish by the door. Kevin looked up from his cooking, the surprise of seeing Neil in his apartment easily masked by the smile that spread across his face; Andrew still noticed though, and he thought Neil might have too. 

“Neil, you’re here,” Kevin said, clearly unsure what to do. 

“Andrew insisted. We talked, and he said I had a chance of not losing you again. I wanted to see if it was true,” Neil answered honestly. 

“It’s true,” Kevin immediately assured him, leaving the stirring of the green beans to Andrew as he walked around the island to get closer to Neil. 

“I didn’t want to lose you either, and Andrew agreed. I didn’t know if you’d be okay with it,” Kevin hedged, talking a little too fast like he always did when he was nervous. 

“I’m more than okay with it,” Neil cut him off. “Kevin, kiss me?” Neil asked quietly, almost reverently, and Andrew couldn’t stop himself from watching as Keving wrapped one solid hand around the back of Neil’s neck and kissed him softly, slowly, like if he let go too quickly Neil would vanish again. 

Neil pulled back before Andrew expected him to, but he grabbed Kevin’s hand and pulled him over to where Andrew stood near the stove and said again to both of them, “Kiss me?”

Andrew didn’t need to be asked twice; he leaned in to kiss Neil first, and then pulled Kevin down by the hair to kiss him too. Andrew didn’t bother to remove the hand entwined in the strands of Kevin’s black hair as Kevin kissed Neil again, watching intently as Kevin wound his fingers through Neil’s auburn curls, linking the three of them together. 

This time it wasn’t a breath of fresh air; it was like they had all been drowning, and this was coming up for air. This was finding oxygen at the bottom of the ocean. This was an answer to a question none of them had dared to ask. 

So to make sure it was real, Andrew and Kevin kissed Neil again. 

And again,  _ and again _ , because they had all night - and the rest of their lives - to do so.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment if you feel like it, I love to hear from all of you.


End file.
